The title is also a very accurate label for the second half of the
Revelation 4-5 throne room vision (5:1-14). In these fourteen verses we are
made aware of the second and third ways we are encouraged by God’s sweet
sovereignty in this current age.
2 & 3. God Sovereignly
Accomplished Salvation Through The Lamb (Jesus Christ), And He is Sovereignty
Applying That Salvation Work To The World.
Both of these encouragements to the church are intertwined throughout
this part of the vision John received. Let’s discover the ways this is so.
a. God The Father Is Envisioned On His
Throne In The Heavenly Throne Room And As Sovereignly In Control Of The
Accomplishment And Application Of Salvation And Judgment. 1
Here we read: “Then I saw in the right hand of him who was seated on
the throne a scroll written within and on the back, sealed with seven seals.”
This vision has roots in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 29:11 the vision of what
is happening in Judah and the subsequent judgment God will bring upon them is
“like the words of a book that is sealed.” Similarly, in Daniel 12:4, 9,
Daniel’s visions of the end-times events in the far future are sealed up in a
book. It also is not insignificant that in one of the most central OT passages
that stands behind the visions of Revelation (Daniel 7) that God is envisioned
sitting in judgment on his throne “and the books were opened.”
What we glean from these Old Testament passages is that what is in view
here in the book or scroll is God’s plan for the achievement and outworking of
both salvation and judgment in history. We have seen in chapter four that God
is sovereign over all and that when he plans something it is as certain as if
it had already happened. Yet, now we see this applied particularly to the
salvation of the church and to judgment upon those who oppose God and treat the
church unjustly, even persecuting them. This last point will be seen more
clearly as we read in chapter six of the unsealing of the scroll. These truths
are powerful for churches being persecuted. After all, God will preserve,
protect, and save them in the ultimate sense. They also are powerful for
churches on the brink of compromise. Such congregations will face the judgment
of God unless they repent.
The fact that the scroll is sealed means its God-decreed events have
not come to fruition yet.
b. The Only One Worthy To Unseal The
Book And Bring About All That Is Ordained In It: The Hero. 2-5
In a very dramatic fashion that emphasizes there is only one who can
accomplish and secure the outworking of what God has decreed for this age in
relation to salvation and judgment, we first read: “And I saw a mighty angel
proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its
seals?” 3 And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open
the scroll or to look into it, 4 and I began to weep loudly because no one was
found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.” The way this is worded,
with the question asked by a mighty angel, the silence in all heaven and earth,
and then John’s passionate response, all are designed to lead the reader to see
there is no hope for salvation and judgement in all the world, except as found
in only one. That one is revealed in
verse five.
In 5:5 we read: “And one of the elders said to me, ‘Weep no more;
behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so
that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.’” There is no need for John to
be distraught and hopeless. The fourfold reason is found in the hero introduced
here.
To begin, he is referred to as “the Lion of the tribe of Judah.” This
comes from Genesis 49:8-10, where Jacob was blessing his sons toward the end of
his life and where we read in his blessing of Judah: “Judah, your brothers
shall praise you; your hand shall be on the neck of your enemies; your father's
sons shall bow down before you. 9Judah is a lion's cub; from the prey, my son,
you have gone up. He stooped down; he crouched as a lion and as a lioness; who
dares rouse him? 10
The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from
between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and to him shall be the obedience
of the peoples.” Not only is Judah referred to here as a lion, but it is
affirmed that he, somehow through his descendants, will have an everlasting and
world-wide kingdom that includes the peoples or nations submitting to him.
Especially in light of later Old Testament prophecies that speak of a
descendant of David who will have an everlasting kingdom (Jer. 33:14-22; Ezek.
34:23), this has traditionally been seen as a prophecy about the coming Messiah
(God’s anointed king who will bring his kingdom and saving blessings to his
people). The one seen is this Messiah (the Christ).
Second, he is referred to as “the root of David.” This is taken from
Isaiah 11, where the future Messiah, the one who will bring God’s worldwide
kingdom and saving blessings, is referred to as “the root of Jesse” (11:10
[Jesse was David’s father]). This is a reiteration that the one seen is the
Messiah, the Christ, who brings the kingdom of God. In other words, he is able
to accomplish and work out, to apply what God has decreed about salvation and
judgment.
Third, it is said of this one that he “has conquered.” In other words,
there is a way in which he has been victorious, he has defeated something
and/or someone. It is also likely that in context what is intended is not only
that the accomplishment and application of salvation and redemption are tied to
his conquering or overcoming, but that God’s people are able to conquer or
overcome because this one has (see the same verb used in promises to overcoming
saints: 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:5, 12, 21). In fact, Rev. 3:21 draws this direct
connection between the conquering of Jesus and that of his followers: “The one
who conquers, I will grant him to sit with me on my throne, as I also conquered
and sat down with my Father on his throne.”
Fourth and finally, we uncover the outcome, purpose, or the result of
his having conquered: “so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” It
is through this one John envisions, that what God has decreed and that which
will enable the church to conquer will come to fruition.
Yet, the reader has been held in suspense. Who is this hero? Verse six leaves no doubt as to the identity.
c. The Identity Of The Hero And What
He Did Behind The Accomplishment And Outworking Of God’s Ordained Salvation And
Judgment. 6
Here is what John saw, as recorded in verse six: “And between the
throne and the four living creatures and among the elders I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns
and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the
earth.”
It is clear from elsewhere in Revelation that this is none other than
Jesus Christ. We know this, to begin with, because in 1:5, 18 it has already
been affirmed that he died a substitutionary atoning death and was raised from
the dead to free his people, save them, and give them life, and later in
Revelation this death is attributed to the Lamb (7:14; 12:11). Additionally,
John recorded Jesus as affirming he had conquered and so his people can
(3:21). But more than this, it is said
of the “Lamb” elsewhere in Revelation: That he is to be praised as is God on
the throne, thus strongly implying he is God and so the second person of the
one true and living God (Rev. 5:12-13); he exercises judging wrath, which is a
role of God (6:16); he is viewed as being married to the bride, the people of
God (19:7) which, in light of its Old Testament background (e.g. Is. 62:1-5)
also means he is divine; the twelve apostles belonged to him, which clearly
equates him with Jesus Christ (21:14); and he is the light of glory of the new
Jerusalem, along with God the Father on the throne (21:22, 23, 27; 22:1); and
finally, according to precise language, he is equal with the Father, but also a
distinct person (22:3). All of this, beyond doubt, identifies him as Jesus
Christ.
Beyond the Lamb’s identity, however, we see great significance in how
he is described here in verse six. He is “standing, as though it had been slain:”
Here, he is viewed as fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (sp.
53:4-6) as the slain lamb, the one to die in the place of God’s people. That he
has been slain in the past and his death brings continual results (the sense of
the wording) speaks of the substitutionary atoning death of Jesus on the cross.
Yet, the fact he is standing implies he has been raised and is no longer dead
(see Rev. 1:18). We see here the enemy he has conquered that saints might
conquer—sin and death. Later in Revelation it will be made clear he has also
conquered the ultimate enemy, Satan (12:7-12, esp. v. 11).
It is also said of him that he is standing “with seven horns.” Horns in
Scripture are symbolic of power, just as they tend to emphasize the power of an
animal or beast, as we see in Rev. 13:1, 11; 17:3 (cf. also Dan. 7:7ff.). Here is the slain, risen, conquering, divine
Lamb, Son of Man, and Lion of Judah, who has great power. He has wielded this
power and continues to wield it in behalf of his people, to save them! This is a glorious assurance for the church
in the face of hostility.
He also is standing “with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of
God sent out into all the earth.” We have already seen “the seven spirits of
God” referred to in 1:4 and in 4:5—a reference to the Holy Spirit who empowers
the people of God for our mission. Here, however, what is emphasized in the
“seven eyes” most likely is the awareness on the part of the Spirit (and so of
the Father). However, the Spirit here is directly associated with the Lamb. The
reason most likely is that through the work of Jesus Christ in behalf of the
church, the Spirit is present in the church applying the person, power,
presence, and work of Christ. Additionally, with this comes infallible
awareness of what the church needs for protection, preservation, and to be
propelled away from sin and idolatry to faithfulness before God (note in the
seven messages to the churches in chapters 2-3 the emphasis on Jesus knowing
where they are and what they need).
d. The Heroic Lamb
Begins To Unfold The Divinely-Decreed Salvation And Judgment In God’s Book. 7-8
Here John records what he saw as follows: “And he went and took the
scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne. 8 And when he
had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell
down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints.”
Elsewhere in Revelation (see chapter 12) the start of salvation and
judgment is tied to the death and resurrection of Jesus. The following context
here makes clear that is the point of victory, the point of accomplishment.
Something of interest is that the twenty-four elders have golden bowls
full of incense that symbolize the prayers of the saints. The significance of
this, as seen in Rev. 8:1-5 (as part of the seventh seal that gives way to the
seven trumpets), is that God works to accomplish redemption and to carry out
its entailments (salvation of his people and judgment on opposition) in
response to the prayers of his followers. So, even though God has determined
what he will accomplish, he has also decreed the means to the end, which
includes prayer. This shows the significance of prayer!
e. In Response To The Heroic Lamb’s Actions,
Two Hymns Of Praise Are Offered, Which Clarify Even Further What The Lamb Has
Done To Accomplish And Apply Salvation. 9-14
Regarding the first hymn (9-10) we read: “And they sang a new song,
saying, ‘Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were
slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and
language and people and nation, 10and you have made them a kingdom and priests
to our God, and they shall reign on the earth.’”
Here we find out what Jesus Christ, the heroic Lamb, has done to
accomplish and apply salvation.
Next, we read of a second hymn (11-14): “Then I looked, and I heard
around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voice of many
angels, numbering myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, 12 saying with
a loud voice, ‘Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory
and blessing!’ 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under
the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, ‘To him who sits on
the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever
and ever!’ 14 And the four living creatures said, ‘Amen!’ and the elders fell
down and worshiped.”
Here we discover all the heavenly beings John sees around the throne
worshiping the slain and risen Lamb. Because he is the Savior and the one who
demonstrates all who ignore him deserve judgment, he is worthy of all that men
can give to him (power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing). In
other words, all that God has gifted us with, we should give to the Savior to
magnify him and to be used in the continual application and outworking of redemption.
The idea is similar to what we see in Romans 12:1 (NLT): “And so, dear
brothers and sisters, I plead with you to give your bodies to God because of
all he has done for you. Let them be a living and holy sacrifice—the kind he
will find acceptable. This is truly the way to worship him.”
The implication for readers of Revelation 5 is that we too should give
all we have in worship and service to Christ.
Joyfully Worshiping And Serving The Lamb With You,
Tom
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